Halo Fireteam Reach
by transformersrawsome2314
Summary: A Halo AU story in which Cortana is human and in a relationship with Master Chief and where Noble Six is alive, has a sister and a fireteam named Fireteam Reach which consists of two girls and three guys. Chief and Cortana join the team and get sent on a special mission to capture the leader of the Storm Covenant and recover Doctor Halsey! Rated for slight language and action.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Hacking Firewalls and Meeting Fireteams

Disclaimer: I don't own Halo.

**This story is an Alternate Universe to the original Halo games. Many things remain cannon but the main story line isn't. Because it is an AU I have taken certain liberties or whatever and resurrected a few characters. I also have a thing against swearing and will be using symbols like #$%^ to show expletives. Use your imagination for the swearing.**

A woman with shoulder length hair and a tall man in military fatigues sat together in their shared quarters. The woman was holding a tac-pad and was hacking something. "Anything?" the male asked.

"Nothing yet Chief but I should have their files up in about 30 more seconds."

"Alright Cortana; I am curious as to what is with their leader and his familiarity with you."

"Just a few more seconds… Got it! Fireteam Reach and ONI prepare to reveal your secrets."

The man also known as Master Chief sat down next to his now human A.I. partner and now girlfriend Cortana in their new quarters aboard the _UNSC Infinity_ getting research done on their new partners Fireteam Reach. They had been assigned with them because they were the best of the best, had their own private training area and living quarters, and the fact that their files were covered in black ink was enough to peak both Cortana and John's curiosity.

They began to read the first file

_Name: Joshua Biggins_

_Rank: Private Grade 1_

_Speciality: Heavy Weapons Specialist Fireteam Reach_

_Notes: Biggins started his military career with a bang; literally. He accidentally fired his rocket launcher into the air and in a blind stroke of luck, hit a cloaked Storm Covenant Phantom alerting the rest of his ODST squad of the presence of the Alien group on Installation 05 one of the remaining Halo Rings that were discovered originally by Sierra-117 after the fall of planet Reach. He later volunteered for the Spartan IV program and went on to serve Fireteam Reach for many years_

_Status: Alive_

"Hm interesting that they mention you John seeing as how you originally found Installation 04 not Installation 05."

"They must have meant the fact that I originally discovered the existence of the rings."

"Of course John. Let's read the next file."

_Name: Ming Zhou_

_Rank: Warrant Officer_

_Speciality: Stealth and Melee Combat_

_Notes: Zhou is very traditional and doesn't speak much. A master of stealth and combat with a sword, he carries a reinforced steel katana on his back and has chosen to only use a gun when absolutely necessary because of a trauma in his past. He joined Fireteam Reach after two years of service as a Spartan 4. He has a considerable kill count with his sword._

_Status: Alive_

"That was interesting. Keep going." Chief said

_Name: Alexandra Hacks_

_Rank: Warrant Officer Grade 2_

_Speciality: Pilot_

_Notes: Hacks served as a Pelican pilot for years transporting troops around battlefields since the original Covenant Empire attacked Earth. In her later career she transported Fireteams to and from Installation 05 where she met her best friend Joshua Biggins. Though not an ODST Hacks was able to join the IV program because of her already sharp reflexes and skills as a pilot along with her long service history. She currently serves as the pilot for Fireteam Reach._

_Status: Alive_

"Well that was certainly entertaining. Only two more files to go." said Cortana.

_Name: Lauren Edel_

_Rank: Chief Petty Officer_

_Specialty: Long Range Weapons_

_Notes: Her last name literally translates to Noble which is fitting considering what her brother once was. She has established herself as the Lone Wolf of the group and unlike her brother Peter wasn't kidnapped at a young age to be forcefully conscripted into a Spartan program. She joined willingly and had already earned a reputation on the battlefield. She was born about ten years after her brother. She spent a number of years in cryo after an injury incapacitated her. She has since joined Fireteam Reach._

"Woah. I wonder what happened to her brother?"Cortana wondered aloud.

"Let's read the last file and find out." Chief said calmly but he could already see where this was going to.

_Name: Peter Edel AKA Spartan B312 AKA Noble 6_

_Rank: Lieutenant_

_Speciality: Assassinations, Long Range and Short Range weapons/ melee weapons_

_Notes: Thought dead after the fall of Reach, Peter is one of the two last surviving members of the famed Noble Team. He is the one that passed Dr. Halsey's discovery to the late Captain Jacob Keyes and opted to stay behind to buy _UNSC Pillar of Autumn _time to escape with both the package and Sierra 117. He and the rest of Noble were instrumental to ending the war with the Covenant Empire. Before donning the mantle of Noble 6 Peter conducted a number of operations within the Insurrectionists and crippled their numbers at the same time. This has earned him the legendary title of a Hyper Lethal Vector but also the title of a Lone Wolf. He was reluctant to lead Fireteam Reach after the trauma of losing both Beta Company and Noble Team. The information about his resurrection is classified. Many other files about Peter also remain in the deepest, darkest recesses of ONI Section 1 Headquarters on Earth._

_Status: Alive_

Chief and Cortana looked at each other. Cortana had told him about Noble 6's sacrifice and he held deep respect for him. He heard a sniffle from Cortana who was crying.

"I'm sorry." She said apologetically "It's just that...well…after so many years thinking that he died. It's just overwhelming to find out that he is alive and on the same ship that I am. I never got to thank him for getting me to the _Pillar of Autumn_ and in part bringing me to you."

John silenced her with a kiss and said "It's okay. We'll confront him about this tomorrow and maybe you can get your thank you then."

With that he turned out the lights and went to sleep. Cortana sat there for a while longer and then turned off her tacpad, got under the covers and went to sleep. For the first time in a long time both dreamed of Reach and the sacrifices made on it.

**Whew the first chapter is finally over. So hope you enjoyed. Be prepared for late updates because school has started for me. I read through it again and realised that I only had two female main characters. I wanted more female characters to balance it so I changed one of the profiles and lo and behold Alex Hacks became Alexandra Hacks. Expect the next chapter to be up soon.**


	2. Introductions and Reintroductions

**Chapter 2 Introductions and Reintroductions**

Cortana and Chief walked into the special area for Fireteam Reach. They saw the five Spartans training. Ming was taking out a bunch of holographic enemies with his sword. Joshua and Alexandra were spotting each other at the weights. Lauren and Peter were just getting into their armor and were cleaning their weapons. Lauren was cleaning a Sniper Rifle and a newer model of a DMR. Peter however was cleaning an Assault Rifle, an antique DMR that could fire 15 shots instead of 14, and he was cleaning what appeared to be a twenty inch combat knife. When he finished he didn't put the combat knife on his leg or his arm. Instead, to Cortana and Chief's surprise, it went up a slit in the wrist of his armor.

That was when he noticed them. He called out "Fireteam Reach. ATTENTION!"

At that order the other four stopped what they were doing and immediately lined up at attention. Cortana and John had already gotten into their armor, Cortana didn't wear a helmet, and they gave salutes to the lieutenant who saluted back (A/N it's a saluting party YAY!) after that Peter gave introductions. "Alright welcome to the private headquarters of Fireteam Reach. The one in the black is Ming Zhou he prefers to go by Zhou, the reason is personal,"

Zhou bent his head slightly.

"The one in the orange and yellow is Joshua Biggins,"

Biggins said "Hiya nice to meet cha."

"The one in silver is Alexandra Hacks," Alexandra gave a two finger salute.

"The one in purple and blue is my sister Lauren Edel,"

Lauren nodded to both of them.

"and last but certainly not least is the guy in red and green is me; Peter Edel. I'm assuming that you already know our ranks and specialities and some other personal facts about us."

Cortana immediately blushed but Chief remained stoic.

"I also assume that you have already found out that the news of my death was slightly exaggerated."

Cortana looked at him in shock and then gave him a hug. Underneath their helmets Chief and Peter raised their eyebrows.

"I never got to thank you for your sacrifice." Cortana said excitedly then her smile turned into a frown "Wait... how did you survive Reach if you stayed behind to buy us time to escape?"

"Well I'm not really sure on the how or why but, I do remember an Elite stabbing me in the torso with an energy dagger. Then there was nothing but darkness for what felt like years I then woke up in a cryotube and the rest is heavily guarded history."

_Epic Flashback…_

_Noble Six stood at the base of the MAC gun contemplating and remembering his now dead team. Then a Phantom passed over him, firing it's cannon._

_Six took cover and noticed a turret off to the side. He immediately grabbed it and started firing on the legions of Grunts, Jackals, and Elites. The gun ran out of ammo and he threw it at an Elite. He looked around and noticed a group of Elites closing in around him._

_A needle hit his visor cracking it and he threw it to the ground grabbing his magnum and Assault Rifle and started firing. An Elite knocked him down and tried to kill him. Several kicks and punches brought two more Elites down and then a third managed to stab him. _

_Six cried out in pain and then went still as the Elite pulled it's energy dagger from his torso. He lay in that position for hours waiting for death. Right when he was about to black out he heard a human voice say "Holy crap, this guy's still alive. Hey, we need a medic over here." and everything turned black._

_End Epic Flashback._

"Have you ever been to the memorial for Noble team?" Chief asked.

"Yes. I go whenever I have leave. It's hard because I witnessed each of their deaths. Well Jun is still alive but I barely talk to him. Now everyone introductions are over time for our briefing."

**And that's the end of the second chapter. Hope you enjoyed. See you next time.**


	3. The Briefing

Chapter 3: The Briefing

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo**

**Warning: Spoilers for Halo Reach in this Chapter.**

It was the day of the briefing and everyone was on edge, so naturally they decided to watch the news. They were shown news coverage of the Noble Team memorial as the news anchor started speaking.

"_On the fifth anniversary of the fall of Humanity's greatest military bastion planet Reach we have been granted a special honor. To show the recording of the heroic and legendary Noble Team's _(A/N: see what I did there and you get a cookie ;)) _actions on that planet. This is pre-recorded footage from the helmet cam of Noble Six." _

John noticed Peter sit up straighter and look slightly worried.

"_As you all know five of the members of Noble Team died on that planet. What you didn't know is that Noble Six's helmet was found with a cracked visor but with a helmet camera that was intact. We are now going to show that footage."_

Peter was really on the edge of his seat now. Lauren went over and talked to him in a soothing voice and gave him a hug. When she walked past John and Cortana she said "He still isn't over what happened on Reach."

John and Cortana nodded in understanding as the clip began to play.

It showed Peter's face and a Warthog before it turned and focused on the road then up toward two UH-144 _Falcon_-class helicopters. The Warthog stopped and Six got out and walked toward the outpost. A helmet-less Jun sat in a Falcon and loading bullets into a magazine. He continued walking and ended up inside the compound. The camera stared at Emile and the helmet carving that looked like a demented jack'o'lantern and sharpening his kukri knife. Six began walking toward before being blocked by Kat's robotic arm. Jorge and Carter look over at Six at Kat's prompting and then they leave on the Visegrad Relay mission. The Zealot jumped on top of the camera and then ran away as Noble Team tried to bring the relay back online. The feed then moved on to the other operations Noble Six went on during his time on Noble Team.

Then the space battle came. Then Jorge sacrificed himself to save the planet. Then Peter fell to Reach from low orbit as an explosion in slipspace occurred above him.

The members of Fireteam Reach watched on as Peter helped to evac civilians and deactivate the jammers in New Alexandria. They watched as he looked over at Kat's falling body having been interrupted by a Needle Rifle going through her head. They watched as Peter held Cortana after having defended Halsey. They watched as Carter crashed his flaming Pelican into the Scarab and they watched as Emile was stabbed in the back by the Elite and heard him say "I'm ready, how bout you?"

Then they watched Noble Six's last stand. They watched as he ripped a turret from it's stand, mowing down Elites, Jackals, and Grunts left and right. They watched as he threw grenades, some bounced some stuck, and fired his assault rifle. They watched as his visor cracked and as he removed his helmet and was eventually downed by five Sangheili and stabbed by one. The image of Six's "dead" body stayed as Reach was glassed in the background and the camera lost battery.

_Two Hours Later_...

Everyone was standing around in the briefing room waiting for the briefing. Cortana and John were talking about some past adventure. Alexandra, Zhou, and Joshua were talking about a drinking game and Peter and Lauren were talking about their parents who Peter couldn't really remember even though he was older than Lauren.

"So what did happen to Mom and Dad?" Peter asked.

"They...uh...well they were killed when the Covenant invaded Reach."

"Oh so what happened to you?"

"I was just old enough to join the ODSTs and helped to defend Reach I was helping with evacuating other cities while the Covenant's attention was on New Alexandria. I defended a civilian transport as they were loading up and got injured. I was ex-filled on the transport and was put into cryo on the transport until we could get to a human controlled planet with medical attention. Then I volunteered for the Spartan IV program and here I am. So bro how did you survive Reach."

Chief had heard this and looked over to see what the answer was.

Peter simply said "That's classified sis."

Commander Palmer and Captain Lasky walked in just as Peter said it.

"Alright Fireteam Reach, Chief, and Cortana;" Lasky said, "We have just received word on the whereabouts of both 'Mdama leader of the Storm Covenant and Doctor Catherine Halsey who are searching for the Librarian that Chief encountered on Requiem. They are on the Forerunner homeworld. It's called Ghibalb and it's in the Orion Complex (A/N I found this on Halopedia)."

Palmer then stepped in, "We need Fireteam Reach to take out the main Storm Covenant forces along with 'Mdama and recover Halsey if you can. _UNSC Infinity _will be providing you with support both on the ground and in orbit. It is very important to this war effort that this mission is a success. Do you understand?"

A chorus of "SIR YES SIR!" came as the members of Fireteam Reach, Cortana and Master Chief saluted Lasky and Palmer.

"Go prepare Fireteam Reach and good luck." with that said Palmer and Lasky went off to coordinate other troops and to plot a course for Ghibalb respectively. Meanwhile Fireteam Reach went to get ready.

**Hope you enjoyed. Ghibalb and the fact that it's the Forerunner homeworld was found on the Forerunner page on Halopedia go check it out for more information and keep in mind that this is an AU. A helpful tip for aspiring authors: Do your research before you pick the planet the story is going to take place on.**


	4. Getting Prepared

Chapter 4: Getting Prepared

**I have realised that I really don't have a thing against swearing so from now on this is also rated for minor swearing. Enjoy. Also please review and such.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo**

Back in their private quarters Fireteam Reach was getting ready to go on their newest operation; to eliminate Storm Covenant leader Jul 'Mdama and to recover Doctor Catherine Halsey. Each were preparing in their own way.

Joshua Biggins was loading additional weapons and ammunition onto their Pelican transport. He had made sure to load up on all the good stuff; Spartan Lasers, Missile Launchers, Magnums, SAWs, Assault Rifles, DMRs, Sniper Rifles, and pretty much everything that one would need on a high profile mission.

Alexandra Hacks was preparing the Pelican and running diagnostic checks while reloading the chaingun and making sure that there was enough space for their gear.

Zhou was running a training simulation with multiple Elite honor guards and after taking down all the enemies started to polish his armor and sharpen his sword.

Lauren was loading rounds into clips for both her custom sniper rifle and her DMR. She made sure to also stock up on shotgun shells for close quarter combat situations.

Peter was opening a bunch of hidden compartments on his custom armor and was loading a bunch of things into them. The three things that Chief noticed out of all the knives, guns, and ammunition were a bubble shield generator that went into the compartment just below his abdomen, A hidden compartment that he was loading Magnum clips into, and an old energy sword that was stored in a compartment on his left shin. Peter noticed John staring at the energy sword and said "The damn thing nearly killed me and has saved my life more times than I can count."

John nodded in understanding and went back to checking the firing mechanisms on his MA5B Assault Rifle and Cortana loaded her Shotgun. Chief loaded his Magnum and added extra rounds to his ammo pouch seeing Cortana doing the same except with MA5B ammo.

"I've read up on Ghibalb it's supposed to be a barren, uninhabitable wasteland. Why would the Librarian be here?" Cortana said.

_Infinity_ was rocked with an explosion.

"What the HELL was that!" yelled Peter.

Peter started to run toward the entrance. "Commander Palmer what's going on out there?"

Commander Palmer spoke to all of them "_We are under attack by Promethean forces and Storm Covenant ships are attacking you need to get planetside and complete the mission."_

Peter said "Alex warm up the-"

Alex interrupted him. "Already done we're ready for insertion planetside."

"Alright people saddle up, it's time to-

The ship was rocked with another explosion and the door shuddered. Peter looked and saw the door slightly bent and Promethean Knights trying to break it down.

"Everyone run!" Peter yelled

Everyone ran to the Pelican as Promethean Knights broke down the door and fired on them. Lauren and Peter turned and fired on them as they backed onto the troop carrier. Master Chief pulled out his Magnum and precisely fired on the Knights. Peter and Lauren got on the Pelican. "Alex punch it!" Peter yelled.

The Pelican took off and flew towards the planet, all passengers and the pilot dreading what they were going to find planetside.

**End of Chapter 4**


	5. The Highly Bumpy Ride Down

Chapter 5: The Highly Bumpy Ride Down

"Everyone hang on this is going to get rough!" yelled Alexandra Hacks as the Pelican that Fireteam Reach was on plummeted toward the surface of Ghibalb which looked like a barren wasteland. The various members of the team grabbed a bar and strapped into the seats at the back of the Pelican.

"This is why I hate flying!" yelled Joshua Biggins as he made dents in the strap that he was holding.

"Bro would you rate this as better, worse, or the same as falling from a Covie super carrier wearing only your armor?" asked Lauren Edel who seemed exhilarated by the events that were unfolding.

"This is definitely better than the super carrier." said the leader of Fireteam Reach Peter Edel Spartan B312 who was starring stoically at the wall while holding back the urge to vomit.

"I still haven't gotten my peanuts." joked the Master Chief. (**Whoever gets this Easter egg gets a cookie or their peanuts.**)

"Everyone this is your captain speaking, we will be landing shortly. Unfortunately a Phantom has moved and dropped off ground troops in our landing zone and moving to intercept. Prepare for battle." Alexandra said.

"Alright people! Here's what's going to happen. We are 3 miles from our targets and there are a whole lot of Covies and Prometheans between us and them. We don't have _Infinity's_ support on this so gather as much gear as you can and let's do this." Peter yelled.

Everyone else replied with a good old OO-RAH! and started to gather the essential gear as the Pelican continued to plummet toward the Covenant troopers.

"Alex fire the chain gun at the Phantom!" Peter yelled.

"Working on it." Alexandra said through gritted teeth.

The Pelican shook as the chain gun fired at the Phantom and soon the other members of Fireteam Reach heard an explosion. Suddenly Alex appeared and grabbed her gear as the other passengers looked on in surprise and some horror.

"Um Hacks, who's flying the plane?" Joshua asked his voice laced with fear.

"Well Josh, I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that we are low enough that we could jump out of the Pelican and survive the fall. The bad news is that we are going to have to jump out because this bird has taken too much damage." Alex said.

Joshua looked like he was about to wet himself. "I refuse to jump out and how many times do I have to tell you that I hate being called Josh!"

"I'm confused, wasn't Joshua an ODST?" Cortana asked Master Chief.

Before John could answer that he didn't know what was wrong, Peter explained. "Joshua has been afraid of jumping out of things since his squad nearly died at New Mombasa getting an engineer out of the city." (**I wonder who will get THIS Easter egg**)

?Hmm...Interesting, that wasn't in his service record."

"EVERYONE JUMP!" yelled Alex.

Surprisingly Joshua was the first one to jump. Following closely were Peter, Lauren, Zhou, Alex, Master Chief, and Cortana. They activated the armor lockup to cushion the impact and landed on the ground safely as the Pelican crashed into the Phantom and destroyed both aircraft.

"God damn it! I just finished cleaning that thing!" yelled Alex.

The Storm Covenant opened fire on the group, forcing them to take cover. As plasma bolts whizzed past their position, Chief saw Peter look toward Zhou and made two hand signals. The first, a cutting motion, the second, a flash like a blinking light. Zhou nodded in understanding and disappeared and John saw a slight shimmer that indicated active camouflage. Suddenly, an Unggoy cried out in surprise as he was cut in half by an invisible force. Another one's skull was caved in. The Sangheili looked around in anger and surprise and the Kig-Yar charged their plasma pistols.

John had been keeping track of the amount of time gone and realised that Zhou's active camo wasn't going to last much longer. "We have to help him!"

"No. Let him do his thing." Chief grunted and continued to watch.

Zhou appeared in the middle of the circle of Storm Covenant and started to run toward the leader of the group, beheading him. The others turned toward him as he disappeared again and a Jackal cried out in fear and pain as the sword sliced through his chest. The survivors started to fire on Zhou's position forcing him to take cover. Peter got up and yelled "NOW!" and the remaining members of Fireteam Reach started to fire off their weapons at the distracted aliens. They were all cut down immediately and the gunfire stopped after what seemed like hours for Cortana.

The sound of everyone reloading filled the area they were in.

"Great job everyone, Zhou are you injured at all?" Peter said.

Zhou shook his head and rejoined the group, cleaning his sword on the head Elite's armor. Everyone got in a circle as Peter put a map on the ground and started to explain the plan.

"Alright everyone, we have gotten intel that 'Mdama, Halsey, and masses of Storm Covenant forces are headed toward a temple that could potentially hold the Librarian. We need to intercept them and take out 'Mdama and his forces and, if possible, recover Halsey. Our target is about five miles due north east. We would be closer to the target if we hadn't been shot down. Still no word on _Infinity_'s status, hopefully they are all okay. Let's move Fireteam Reach!"

**You have no idea how long it took for me to write this. I have started writing another new story that came to me when reading yet another story. Enjoy. Ironically this will probably be one of my longest chapters.**


End file.
